The semi-weekly fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1886-1887, 1887-10-21

THE PEOPLE > ONE
would prefer fishing with half "a dozen
lines Of nets on either side of them,
than directly behind large seine, the
action OF the tide against the nets,
would so cut up the bottom lines, as
to allow al! chance, while behind
the seines it would be otherwise.
In laying out seine, calculation
is made for the tide, and it is put out
above Or below the landing place. so
! that upon being wound in, the current
will cut it down or up opposite the
place of land. A we'll rugged seine
sweeps to the bottom, and is not cut
| by the tide, as in case of nets, be-
cause it moves along with the current.
Two large heavy ropes run along its
! entire length at the bottom. The
Albemarle seines are rugged from
1000 to 2400 yards in length and of
sufficient depth to sweep the bot tom,
of seine netting of the following size
mesh: Il bar or 81 in mesh in the
wings, then Il bar in mesh nex5
line, then / bar or p in mesh next
to Blunt and ! bar or L in mesh Blunt
or Breast
| Pound and Dutch nets are rugged of
sufficient depth to reach the bottom
when no current, as follows: Leads $50
to 200 yards long of 2 to 24 in. bar or 4
, to in. mesh. Hearts, 80 yards in length
of II to II in. bar or to 81 inch mesh.
Pounds or pods, 10 to 80 feet square, of
1t inch bar or 2t inch mesh.
The large seines fished in Albemarle
Sound and Chowan River are from 1000
to 2400 yards long with 40 or II ten or
eleven coil-2000 to goo yards-of
whale warp, on the sea or outer end and
five to six coils-1OOO to 1900 yards-on
the land or shore end. They are laid |
out in the water and hauled in, about |
five times in every twenty-four hours, |
and sweep a square mile or more of wa
ter. 1t catches everything that it en-
circles. Steam is employed by most of |
them both in the laying of them out in
the water. and on shore for hauling
them in They are rugged up in the
month of January or February. and are
left on the shore until the time arrives
to commence operations. A day is ap-
seine is placed in the boats,
E. L
ed. Some of the sites for seine fishing
are very much more valuable than
others, and rarely fail to produce big
money. AT one of these were caught {
between 80, 900 and 70, 900 shad, last sea-
son, (1686, more shad than all the {
Pound nets together in Albemarle |
Sound in any one season. s
The seine fished at CoIeraine, 30 miles
from the mouth of ChOwan River. in ]
jhe spring of 1888 or "a caught, what ]
was entimated to be 400, 900 at one haul. 1
Two days and nights were consumed in :
anding them. The seine. after being
hauled in to certain limit, was staked e
'ut and a small drag net used to fish
hem out in quantities that could be .
,asily handled.
AT BantOn, on the opposite side of
jhOwan river, and a little heigher up. a
laul was made that exceeded. in mum
'ers, the one at COleraine. So many fish
we're confined within the seine that it
ould not be drawn nearer to the shore
han hundred yards. The proprietor
ceiling his inability to take care of SO
many, sank the cork line and allowed
1Ore than half of them to escape. Run
ers were dispatched around. through
ut the neighborhOod for extra assis-
ance. and with all the help attainable.
thousands of them spoiled and had to
e hauled into the fields for manure.
Banton, with one exception, is the
ighest point on the Chowan river at
hitch a seine is fshed, and beyond all
lie Pound nets. The river at this place
about three miles wide.
In fishing as in farming very much de-
ends on the weather. AS to exactly .
hat these conditions should be during
lie winter preceding the fish season, J
lere is a diversity of opinion. If it is .
'ry cold, rainy and blustery in the
ring, fishing on the upper Albemarle :
unremunerative. We have poor fish
ars as we'll as poor crop years. u
CONCLUDED.